The present invention relates to the field of electronic devices that incorporate field-replaceable units (FRUs), and more particularly to data management within a microcontroller of a FRU.
In early computer systems and electronic devices, it was often difficult or even impossible to replace certain hardware components, e.g., the power supply, memory, and I/O controllers, after the computer or electronic device had been manufactured. Electronic hardware components in computer systems and electronic devices sometimes fail after the systems have been put into service. When hardware failures occur, the faulty device must be identified and replaced to minimize downtime. Modern computer systems and electronic devices frequently incorporate field-replaceable units (FRUs), which are components, such as a power supply, memory, and I/O controllers that can be replaced in the field (i.e., at user locations) to minimize downtime.
Most computing environments today include several types of memory for storing and manipulating data. The most common are read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), and erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory). FRUs can include one or more types of memory to store: firmware, vital product data (VPD), monitoring data, and fault data. FRUs may utilize memory that is a discrete component, such as a serial electrically EPROM (SEEPROM) and/or memory that is part of another device, such as a microcontroller (μC). Firmware is the code that is embedded in a hardware device that runs in the ROM and RAM memory of the hardware device, such as a microcontroller and is stored in non-volatile memory.
A failing FRU can communicate the relevant state (e.g., first error data capture) to a monitoring system or monitoring program via a communication network. Information related to the status of a system and symptoms related to the failure of a hardware component, such as the FRU, are valuable troubleshooting aids for a system manufacturer, a service organization, and the designer of the FRU.